Tag Archives: Casey McQuiston

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Book Review, ,
Overview

Title: One Last Stop
Author: Casey McQuiston
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, LGBTQI
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Year: 2021

Thoughts

I absolutely loved Red, White and Royal Blue. It was brilliantly written with amazing characters and a wonderful storyline. Which means that I’ve been kind of hanging to read One Last Stop. I figure if one novel by McQuiston was going to be amazing, the next one probably was too. And I was completely correct. This book is amazing and wonderful and has so many emotions to it. I honestly don’t quite know where to begin…

Alright, so it took me a little to get into this. I did love August from the start. But some of her hang-ups and insecurities were just… too difficult for me to comprehend. Partly it’s probably because I’ve never really been floating through the world and untethered. I’ve always had someone, or something to give me roots. It’s incredibly difficult to understand what it would be like to not have that grounding and then relate… but I digress. August, regardless of that small factor in her characterisation that I couldn’t quite relate to was a wonderful lead. And, as I understood her more and more, I wanted to see the amazing character growth that I was hoping for from McQuiston’s writing. I wasn’t disappointed. At the root of this story, there is a major coming of age vibe that left me with all of the happy feelings.

It took me a decent chunk into this book to find the paranormal element to it. It was completely unexpected. I spent the first chunk trying to figure out how this wonderful little romance was going to go off the rails and fill the roughly 400 pages. And then that mystery element hit, and suddenly the length of the book became a lot more understandable and less tedious. I love how it was a twist that I honestly just didn’t see coming, one that had me hooked and unable to look away. It was a wonderful approach and idea that I kind of want to read more about. Actually, mostly I just want to read more about what happens after the whole cast of this story rides off, happily, into the sunset… they’re all just too cute.

This novel has a fantastic cast of characters. August and Jane as the lead couple are wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed August’s journey to acceptance and finally growing her own roots. But, then there’s the rest of the cast. Not only do multiple facets of the LGBTQIA+ community get represented within here, but there are also drag queens. Which I find ridiculously fun and wonderful. It just made me sink further and further into this story with the biggest, most ridiculous smile on my face.

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Image source: Goodreads

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel eBook: McQuiston, Casey: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store

Title: Red, White & Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, LGBTQI
Dates read: 9th – 24th January 2021
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Year: 2019
5th sentence, 74th page: Shaan almost called in the sniffer dogs.

Synopsis

What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius – his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with an actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex / Henry altercation, U.S. / British relations take a turn for the worse

Heads of family and state and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: Stage a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagrammable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the presidential campaign and upend two nations. It raises the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?

Thoughts

I bought this on an impulse because one of the book bloggers I love to follow had it on their reviews last year and said it was awesome. And you know what? They weren’t wrong! This book is amazing and wonderful. Unforgettable and left me feeling super happy, calm and complete. The kind of book that I will most definitely read again and again as the years go by.

I love that not only is this novel a romance, but it’s also a coming-of-age story. In a pretty major way. The whole time throughout this story, Alex is not only falling in love with Henry, but he’s also having to figure out his own identity and nonsense. That’s not exactly an easy feat. Making this an even mor amazing and impossible to forget story. Or at least, that’s what it was like for me – I love how Alex is constantly having new revelations and realisations throughout.

Reading this novel coming out of the shenanigans of what has been happening in America felt… time worthy. It felt poignant and perfectly timed. And, although I still know next to nothing about American politics, it did help to give me a little insight into some of the horrors that the poor Americans have been dealing with. Or at least, that’s how it felt. It highlighted the horrors, but also did so in a optimistic and somewhat positive manner.

All in all, I absolutely loved this novel. I can’t wait until McQuiston’s next book, One Last Stop comes out and takes it place on my shelves. There is something optimistic and brutally honest about McQuiston’s writing that draws you in completely from the beginning. It is impossible not to feel connected to both Alex and Henry as they try and negotiate their very public lives. And, just generally, leaves you feeling light, hopeful and believing in true love as you turn that final page.

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Image source: Amazon